Obligatory Modules

In addition to fundamental knowledge, lectures, tutorials, case studies, and riveting, practice-related talks proffer insights into current marketing research and marketing practices. The following courses are mandatory constituents of the Bachelor degree program in business administration.

Marketing I (The Fundamental Principles of Marketing) (third regular semester): Professor Thorsten Wiesel (IWW) introduces his students to the world of (strategic) marketing. At the MCM, marketing is considered as market-oriented management. This is the conceptual background against which Professor Wiesel presents topics such as market segmentation, market cultivation or the marketing mix (the 4Ps of marketing: price, product, place, promotion). Self-tests adapted to the content of the lectures contribute to a deeper understanding of the topics and enable students to assess their progress.

Quantitative Marketing (fourth regular semester): This module is divided into two parts devoted respectively to market research (first term) and marketing operations (second term). In ‘Market Research’, Professor Manfred Krafft (IfM) sheds light on the procedures and methods of market research. The subjects dealt with range from the framing of a research question via research design to the implementation of research into practice. Specific topic areas include scales of measure, hypothesis tests, and analytical methods such as regression analysis and analysis of variance.
Good decision making should be based on a thorough evaluation of competing decision alternatives. In order to succeed in today´s fast moving and data-rich decision environments, business leaders must understand the art and science of decision making and transfer the implications into practice. ‘Marketing Operations’ helps to transform data into information, which allow for insights into causal structures, the strength of effects, and improved marketing decisions. The result is a better outcome and thus, increased Return on Marketing. The course emphasizes the importance of decision support systems, specifically modeling of decisions, calibration of market response models, optimization of the marketing mix, and budget allocation.

Innovation Management (sixth regular semester): In this course, Professor Thorsten Hennig-Thurau (LMM) presents the management of innovations. With the aid of real-life examples concerning successful and somewhat less successful innovations, students are familiarized with requirements and success factors relevant to new products.